Pakistani passport ranks second worst for international travel

17 January 2017: The Pakistani passport is still ranked the second worst in the world, just above Afghanistan, this year’s Passport Index reveals.

Pakistan is ranked 198 of a total of 199 countries on the list with a score of 26 points. It is ranked fourth most unsafe country in the world and enjoys visa-free access to only six countries. The countries for which Pakistani passport-holders need a visa to travel now also include Afghanistan.

Pakistani passport has been ranked as the second worst in the world for international travel.

Henley & Partners, a company that assists wealthy clients with residence and citizenship planning and the company behind the Visa Restrictions Index, has ranked countries according to the number of other countries their citizens can travel to without having to obtain a visa.

Pakistan ranks 103 of a total 104 countries and only ranks better than Afghanistan. Thus meaning that citizens of Pakistan and Afghanistan face the most amount of visa restrictions while travelling across the globe.

Why is that as our economic indicators are becoming better with every passing year and we are winning investments from China and increasing trade with Russia, Iran, US and Europe, our passport is getting damning status?

Why is the world afraid of Pakistani travellers? Will someone in policy or parliament raise this question and find plausible answers?

Germany ranked number one on the index with 177 points, while Pakistan scored 29 points. Sweden secured the second spot (176 points), followed by France, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom ranking third on the index. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s neighbour, India ranked 85 on the list, with a score of 52.

“Henley & Partners analyses global visa regulations to present an index ranking each country and territory in the world by the number of countries that their citizens can travel to visa-free.”

The index is produced in cooperation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which maintains the world’s largest database of travel information, and is published annually.

In January last year, Henley & Partners, ranked countries according to the number of other countries their citizens can travel without having to obtain a visa.

Pakistan shared the spot with Somalia, with citizens of both countries enjoying visa-free access to only 32 destinations around the world. Only citizens of Iraq (31) and Afghanistan (28) are worse off.

Another index, Passport Index 2016, highlights the rank of each country and a list of visa-free or visa-on-arrival countries. Check here.

“Visa requirements are … an expression of the relationships between individual nations,” the company’s websites notes, and, “generally reflect the relations and status of a country within the international community of nations”.